To Honor Thy Lady
by futrCSI1490
Summary: One-shot. It's a sweltering day in Mamoreal, and Alice gets quite the show when passing the jousting pitch. Pure fluff! Please, R & R!


*Disclaimer*: I do not own any of the characters from Alice in Wonderland (2010). They belong to Lewis Carroll and the mad, brilliant Tim Burton. Although, Gwydion – the White Castle's librarian – is all mine :-).

A/N: Do not worry, for I have not abandoned _Underland Shuffled_. But a big exam this past week, and the sad losses of both USA and England in the World Cup last weekend have put me behind :-/. However, this little idea popped into my head the other morning and I offer this up in hopes to hold you all over until I get can back to _US_ this weekend. Sweet and smexy fluff that may rot your teeth ;-). Ye be warned!

* * *

~*To Honor Thy Lady*~

Alice quite enjoyed living Mamoreal. She was always close to her friends, and the short trip from her rooms to the library for her Underland lessons was very convenient. However, Alice couldn't wait for the day when she and Tarrant would have a home of their own.

The couple had been courting for a few weeks now, and although Alice told him from the beginning that she would accept his marriage proposal, Tarrant wanted to do this properly. So, as he hatted away up in his workshop, Alice spent most of her day learning the history, culture, people, places, and even the language of Underland from the castle's resident librarian: Gwydion, a round-rimmed-glasses wearing sparrow.

And that's exactly where Alice heading at the moment; although, rather slowly. Today was one of the hottest days Underland had ever seen and there seemed to be no reprieve from the heat anywhere in the castle. Every few steps felt like a mile, and Alice found herself stopping to fan herself. Yet, even this and the light sundress she wore did nothing to stop the perspiration.

Since the whole of Mamoreal seemed to be suffering a similar fate, Alice found most of the white court abandoning their duties for the day and trying to enjoy the weather outside. Continuing her journey to the library, Alice passed by the jousting pitch and noticed the sounds of clashing metal and labored grunts. Normally, she would have kept walking, but at a quick glance the flash of bright orange made her stop. Moving to lean against the frame of the stone arch, Alice's jaw dropped for there was _her_ Hatter squaring off with a White Knight.

A small crowd of White Knights and fawning ladies had gathered in the seats of the small amphitheatre watching the two men spar. But, what caught her attention the most was the fact that Tarrant was wearing nothing but his hat and loose-fitting tan workout trousers. Bare feet and bare-chested, Tarrant oozed power and confidence as he lunged and blocked his opponent.

Alice tried not to look like the hormone-infested woman surrounding the stadium; however, watching the sweat glisten and glide over Tarrant's body, he shown like a God. Every movement created new shadows that revealed the well-toned and shapely ripples that were his abs, and Alice could only marvel at what was normally hidden beneath layers of fabric. So, it was quite understandable that she had to tighten her grip on the stone frame, so if in fact her knees did give out she'd remain upright.

She watched his muscles flex and contracted as he circled the knight, and Alice began to wonder just how that would feel against her skin…

_No, Alice! None of those thoughts right now… the day is already too hot to bear._

With just a few more swings of his broadsword, Tarrant had the offending weapon flung from the knight's hands. He grinned with a satisfied smirk and held his arms out in presentation. After the initial shock wore off, the White Knight shook his head and laughed as the surrounding crowd applauded the pair.

"Ha-HA! Well-done Hightopp, but you haven't won yet. It's best two out of three, and right now we're tied."

Tarrant replied with his own deep, guttural laugh; contrary to his normal incessant giggling. Alice felt herself slip a little further down the wall and gasped… and here she thought only his brogue could do that.

"Of course, laddie. But remember… I only go easy on the first round."

Both bowed their heads and walked in opposite directions for a short break. The knight immediately turned towards the group of ladies along the seating barrier, who began to comfort and mend his broken ego. Tarrant, on the other hand, turned and stalked towards the now doe-eyed Alice with a look of determination and delicious promises. _When did he notice I was here?_

"However, ah foremaist wish tae ask mah lady if ah kin honor her by sportin' her colors."

He presented the hilt of his sword and waited for her answer. Alice let her eyes flutter closed and she took a deep breath in order to refocus her muddled senses. When they reopened, her eyes held a devious glint.

"Of course, my lord," she replied as her hand came up and pulled at the baby blue ribbon holding her hair atop her head, "May it bring you success." She wrapped the ribbon around the hilt and tied it tight.

With a slight bow, Tarrant was about to return to the pitch when Alice grabbed his forearm, "No kiss for luck?" She raised an eyebrow in question.

Tarrant chuckled low in his throat, and faced her once more as she leaned in to place a quick kiss to his lips. As soon as she began to draw away, he grabbed her hand on his arm and pulled her back into a searing kiss and placed her palm flat against his chest, right above his heart. The rapid beating against her hand made Alice's skin tingle and forced a moan from her lips. Caving, she completely melted into Tarrant and succumbed to a thoughtless mind.

When the kiss finally ended, Alice whimpered at the loss of contact and Tarrant smirked in satisfaction at the glazed and unseeing state he had left her in. With a fancy twirl and a flick of his wrist, he had moved his hat from his head to hers.

"Keep it safe," he whispered with a final kiss to her cheek and walked back out to the middle of the pitch.

It wasn't until the sounds of metal on metal did Alice return to Underland. Watching her beloved Hatter spar once again, she smiled like a silly schoolgirl drunk on love. A pretty blush rose on her cheeks as she slumped against the cool white stone.

"There you are, my dear girl!"

Alice jumped with a yelp at the sudden appearance of the sparrow, "Gwydion! Goodness, you gave me a fright!"

"My apologies, Lady Alice, but you're over 20 minutes late for your lessons. I got worried."

Alice sighed, "I'm sorry, Gwydion. I just got caught up in the… excitement."

"I see. Well come along, my dear. We still have a lot to do today."

Saddened by the fact she would miss the rest of the match, Alice didn't put up a fight as she let the human-sized bird direct her towards the library.

* * *

An hour or two later and a few more rounds of Tarrant proving his worth, the knight finally conceded defeat with more than just a bruised ego to show it. Positively smug, Tarrant ventured back inside in search of Alice. Guessing correctly, he found her in the library; the back of her head peeking over the top of a worn leather chair, his hat resting on the table in front of her.

So absorbed in her history book, Alice didn't notice Tarrant's presence until she felt his fingers combing threw her hair. Closing her eyes and sighing, she felt her hair being once again pulled to the top of her head as the ribbon she gave him earlier was wrapped around and pulled into a bow. Alice felt all tension leave her as she breathed in the scent that was all his own: tea, honey, and a gentle musk that wrapped around her like a warm hug.

Once finishing with her hair, Tarrant bent down and kissed the crook of her neck, then slipped into the seat beside her. Alice noticed that a loose tunic now covered his once bare torso as her eyes roamed his body envisioning the sight from earlier that day.

"You didn't stay," he said, snapping her out of the memory.

"Unfortunately, no," Alice sighed while marking her page and setting the book on the table, "Gwydion found me just after you started again. I was late for my lessons."

"_Naughty._"

She rolled her eyes in amusement, and they happened to land on the large grandfather clock in corner. Noticing the time, her brow knitted in confusion, "You've _just_ finished?"

"Yes, well, the lad insisted my good fortunes were pure luck."

Alice shook her head and chuckled, wondering just how badly Tarrant had bested the poor knight. "So I guess my luck charm worked."

"Quite," he said with a large grin.

Alice returned his grin and reflected on how perfect her life felt at this moment. However, that only lasted until she noticed the cut.

"Tarrant, you're hurt!" She jumped up from the chair.

He glanced at the dried red mark above his left bicep and waved it off, "It's just a scratch."

"No, really, I should just tak-" But before she could finish, Tarrant pulled her onto his lap.

"I said I'm fine. It's already healing."

Alice gave a small huff in frustration, but didn't push the matter. However, with her current position in Tarrant's lap, her thoughts soon turned impish. Trailing her finger lightly down the front of his body, she watched his reaction through half-lidded eyes.

"Well, at least let me make it feel better."

Alice lean forward and placed light kisses along the scar from one side to the other. She felt him shudder at her touch and she smirked with self-satisfaction. Bring her face back to his she whispered, "Tha gaol agam ort."1

Tarrant smiled wide at her near perfect use of Outlandish and kissed her full on the lips. Relaxing completely in his embrace, Alice rested her head on his shoulder and Tarrant tightened his grip around her waist.

"Tha gaol agam ort, Alice."

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A/N: 1.) Tha gaol agam ort – "I love you" in Scottish Gaelic.

Well there you have it! Fluff, fluff, fluff, hehe ^_^. Just something sweet that begged me to be written; hope you enjoyed! Though, I do hope the ending wasn't too abrupt… I had a hard time trying to figure out how to finish it.

But can I just say that waking up to the mental picture of a shirtless Tarrant is quite delicious ;-).

Please R & R! Thanks!


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